Forex - EUR/USD falls on weak German data, U.S. fiscal uncertainty

Published 11/07/2012, 07:33 PM
Updated 11/07/2012, 07:34 PM
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Investing.com - The euro fell against the dollar in Asian trading Thursday on fears weak German output data and growing U.S. fiscal uncertainty could cool an already slowing global economy, which sent investors chasing the safety of the U.S. dollar.

In Asian trading on Thursday, EUR/USD was trading down 0.16% at 1.2752, up from a session low of 1.2748, and off from a high of 1.2757.

The pair is likely to find support at 1.2737, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 1.28767, Wednesday's high.

President Barack Obama won a second term in office on Tuesday though markets quickly looked past the elections and towards the end of this year, when tax breaks are set to expire at the same time cuts to government spending are scheduled to kick in, a combination known as a fiscal cliff that could send the country into a recession next year if left unchecked by Congress.

Fears Democrats and Republicans will clash over tax hikes and spending cuts sent stocks plunging and the dollar gaining amid a session marked by fears of brinkmanship and finger pointing that marked the 2011 debt-ceiling debacle.

While Congress avoided disaster then at the very last second, the U.S. teetered on the brink of default, which prompted the Standard & Poor's ratings agency to strip the U.S. of its coveted AAA rating.

Elsewhere in Europe, German industrial production dropped 1.8% in September, well beyond expectations for a 0.5% decline.

Spanish industrial production tumbled 7% in September, about twice as much predicted by economists.

The European Commission, meanwhile, cut its growth forecast for the eurozone to 0.1% in 2013, down from a May estimate of 1%.

Germany's growth forecast fell to 0.8% from 1.7%.

Bolstering the single currency, however, were news reports that Greece's parliament approved to accept EUR13.5 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes needed to tap a new tranche of bailout money.

The euro, meanwhile, was down against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading down 0.09% at 0.7983, and EUR/JPY trading down 0.20% at 101.97.

In the eurozone later Thursday, finance ministers will hold talks in Brussels to discuss financial issues in the bloc.
The European Central Bank is to announce its benchmark interest rate followed by a press conference with ECB President Mario Draghi to discuss monetary policy.

Meanwhile in the U.S., the government will release official data on trade balance as well as the weekly data on initial jobless claims.








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